As far as ocean liners go the British liner, RMS Carpathia was ordinary. She was neither particularly fast nor luxurious. Around 1900 the great ocean liners of the world were trying to outdo each other for size, speed, and luxury., The Carpathia would certainly have…
Posts tagged as “Gregory Pettys”
I thought with the United States celebration its 250th anniversary doing a story on the USS Constitution would be appropriate. The photo in this article was taken in Boston on July 4, 2014 when the ship fired a 17-gun salute to celebrate Independence Day. There…
The Skeleton Coast is a 500-mile-long desolate shore that is one of the most dangerous in the world. It is part of present-day Namibia in West Africa. The name Skeleton Coast comes from the large amount of whale and seal bones that are found there.…
One of the most intriguing shipwrecks you’ve probably never heard about unless you live in Australia is the SS Alkimos. The Alkimos, originally named George M. Shriver’s was one of 2,710 Liberty Ships built by the U.S. during World War II. Later in her career,…
I’ve always been fascinated with legends like the Flying Dutchman or ghost ships covered with slime that would ensnare unwary sailors. At one time, a lot of derelict vessels, while not necessarily haunted by ghosts, could still kill unsuspecting mariners.At the end of the nineteenth…
One of my favorite movies is The Caine Mutiny starring Humprey Bogart as Captain Queeg. The movie is based on a true story that novelist Herman Wouk used to depict the dramatic events surrounding Admiral Halsey and typhoon Cobra. The novel’s central theme reflects the…
In the past getting out on the water was one of my primary forms of entertainment. Whether it was fishing with friends or sailing the waters of Long Island Sound I was out there almost every weekend. But it’s not that easy for me to…
It’s the 50th anniversary of the 1975 blockbuster movie Jaws. Not long after seeing the movie I went to the beach for a swim and the shark attack music kept playing in my head as I sheepishly looked around the ocean for a dorsal fin…
The great ocean liners carried passengers across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and America for nearly two centuries. These magnificent steam powered ships carried the rich and famous as well as immigrants seeking a new life. They competed against each other for the Blue Riband…
I can’t think of many more terrifying things than being marooned at night in a lighthouse during a raging hurricane-force storm, the structure shaking violently until it falls into the sea. That is what happened to two keepers in 1851. Many people believe their spirits…